Will Reggie Bush be stripped of his Heisman?
Reggie Bush may be currently living his worst nightmare after his Super Bowl dreams came true in February.
His former collegiate school, The University of South California (USC), has already cut all ties with him as they are planning to take down anything with his name on it around campus and are planning to erase him from their history entirely.
The University of Southern California already returned their copy of the Heisman Trophy Bush won in 2005. Reggie Bush was also a National Champion with the Trojans after they won the 2004 BCS Championship and were runners-up the following year, in Bush’s Heisman season.
Many are wondering whether the Heisman Trust will ask Bush to return his bronze statue.
The president of the Heisman Trophy Trust, New York-based attorney William J. Dockery has stated that the organization has not yet decided when or if they will strip Bush of his Heisman.
"The Trust will be considering the issues raised in the USC/Reggie Bush matter, and after reaching a decision will publish it, but due to the complex issues involved and the Trust's desire to reach an appropriate decision, no definitive timetable has been established," Dockery said. "Until the matter has been fully considered and a decision is reached, the Trust has no further comment," he added.
Recently, the university was handed heavy sanctions from the NCAA, as they were banned from Bowl contention for the next two years.
Bush is now a member of the Super Bowl Champions, the New Orleans Saints, and was part of the focus of the ongoing NCAA investigation. They discovered that Bush and his family received improper gifts from a marketing agent during Bush's tenure at USC; a very big no-no for the NCAA.
The Heisman Trust has been relatively quiet throughout the investigation, but because the NCAA ruled that Bush compromised his eligibility in 2005, the board of trustees may decide to make him the first player in college football history to be stripped of his Heisman.
It is unsure of what will be done with the award if the board indeed decides to take the Heisman away from Bush.
Former Texas quarterback and current Tennessee Titans quarterback (QB) Vince Young finished runner-up to Bush in Heisman voting in 2005. He also led his Longhorns to a dramatic 41-38 victory in the championship game against USC that year. However in the event that Bush is stripped of his Heisman, the award is most likely to be vacated, rather than given to Young.
Perhaps the most severe sanction handed from the NCAA to USC was that the school was forced to vacate wins from the 2004 and 2005 seasons. That would mean the Trojans could possibly be stripped of their 2004 National Championship title.
USC is appealing the decision of the NCAA and the Bowl Championship Series has said it will wait until the appeal process has concluded before determining if it will vacate the Trojans' 2004 BCS title.
Of course, in all this there are questions of what can happen from all this. Will Vince Young win the Heisman that many felt he deserved? Will Oklahoma be awarded the BCS title, or will it simply be vacated?
It’s certain that much debate will spark from the situation. Some may argue that indeed Bush did break NCAA rules, but at the same time, it had nothing to do with what he and the Trojans did on the field. Unless the school cheated its way to a championship then it shouldn’t be stripped of what they accomplished on the field.
A ban from Bowl contention for the next two years seems like enough and the school will likely lose many recruits, so let’s make sure we distinguish from breaking the rules to cheating. It’s a very tough line to draw indeed so any decision made will need the very best discretion from the Heisman Trust, the BCS, and the NCAA.
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